Flight Over Ba Sing Se
by 0NorthernLights0
Summary: Aang finally confesses his love for Katara, but can this dream-like moment last? Random Kataang fluff. Oneshot.


***This fic takes place during Season 3 between the episodes The Headband and The Painted Lady :] Kataango FTW**

As they sailed above Ba Sing Se, Aang drank in the startlingly perfect sight of Katara. Her deep brown hair was tousled by the fresh night air and curled in smooth tendrils across her smooth, bare back—exposed in her dark blue gown. The sparkling blue sash that draped down from the top of her shoulder and wrapped around her waist reminded Aang of the stars in the sky. As the shimmering material blazed before the dark silky dress that the girl wore, so the stars blazed in the silky black sky. When Aang gazed at her, the whole world seemed to stand still. Nothing mattered as long as Katara was with him. The full moon, bright stars, and invigorating breeze gave Aang a sudden, unexpected courage.

"Uhm… Katara? There's something I really need to talk to you about. About us…" The young avatar gulped audibly and clutched Appa's saddle tightly in order to keep himself from shaking. He feared his nerves would prove to be too much. _NO! It has to be said. If I lose my nerve now, I might not get another chance like this, and she'll never know how I really feel about her! _Aang inhaled deeply and looked into Katara's confused eyes; he froze. Katara's eyes were like large globes covered with vast, azure oceans. They both mesmerized and calmed him. As quickly as it had come, the nervous haze in his mind cleared, and Aang was able to utter the three words he had most longed to say to Katara since he had met her.

"I love you." His muscles tensed as the words escaped his lips, surprised at his bravery, then released at Katara's swift reaction. A wide smile spread across the girl's face as she threw herself at Aang and tightly embraced him. For a moment they just sat there; Katara's eyes welled slightly with happiness and Aang waited hopefully for her to say something in return. All too soon, Katara broke the warm cuddle to gaze up at him.

"I love you too, Aang!" She moved to embrace him once more, but was interrupted when Aang cradled the side of her face and pulled it closer to his. He faltered, unsure, but Katara enthusiastically closed the space between them and pressed her lips firmly against his.

The kiss was phenomenal. It was even better than Aang could have desired or imagined. His force against Katara's tenderness created a powerful connection that was both affectionate and enthusiastic. The hidden love that they had shared for one another was no longer secret as their lips bonded together. Katara fell back onto the floor of Appa's saddle and Aang positioned himself above her; all the while maintaining their surreal kiss. His fingers, now running through her hair, shook as his nerves again began to surface. Katara reluctantly pulled away from Aang and her lips curled into a sweet, innocent smile; her blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Aang's lips parted into an embarrassed ear to ear grin. The girl's hand slipped behind his head and pulled him back into another kiss. Aang didn't want this moment to end; he just wanted to hold Katara like this forever.

"WAKE UP TWINKLETOES!" Toph interjected, "Appa needs a bath and it's **your** turn to scrub between his toes!" Aang clamped his eyes shut, hoping to fall back asleep. Could it really have been just a dream? Her soft, warm lips against his had felt so real. A rock jutted suddenly from the ground and jabbed Aang in the back. "We haven't got all day, Sleeping Beauty!"

Aang sat up disappointedly. They were not flying above Ba Sing Se, but settled in a ragged mountain cave. Past the opening of the cavern, Aang could see the island shore and an ocean which glistening in the bright morning sun.

"Good morning, Aang!" Katara's cheery voice echoed in the cave. The young avatar's heart leapt into his throat as he recalled his dream. She gracefully walked up to him with a plate of fruit. "Before you get to Appa—" she paused to flash a disapproving look at Toph, though it was unseen by the earth bender, "have some breakfast."

As she handed Aang the food, Katara's fingers lightly brushed the avatar's. He jumped, almost losing the plate to the rocky floor. "Uhm… Alright. Thanks, Katara," He ate the fruit as he talked, and his voice cracked slightly when he said her name. "Time to get clean!" Aang pressed the plate back into Katara's still outstretched palms and walked outside with the large sky bison. He tried his best to avert his eyes from her perplexed gaze.

Aang's mind was racing as he bended the ocean water to bathe Appa. He couldn't get the previous night's dream out of his mind, or Katara for that matter. Aang pictured her beautiful brunette hair, those vastly striking eyes, her perfectly toned body… He shook the thoughts from his mind and saddled Appa. "Let's go back in and dry off, buddy."

Katara greeted Aang and Appa when they returned, "We're heading up to that town we saw to get more food and supplies. Are you coming with us?" Her lighthearted smile stunned Aang, and almost kept him from giving her a reply.

"Not this time. I think I'm going to practice my bending today; gotta master those elements, right?" He was able to muster a somewhat positive tone in his response, but Katara could sense that something was bothering him.

"Be careful, Aang. We're in fire nation territory; I don't like leaving you here alone." Momo chittered, as if in agreement, from the girl's shoulder. Aang just nodded in understanding and left the cave, then airbended himself to a ledge above it. He watched the rest of the gang walk off together. Katara briefly glanced back at him in worry.

Aang couldn't focus. As he carved into the face of a jagged boulder, he continued to think of Katara. At first, Aang felt angry at her. _How can she not have any feelings for me when I can't even force her out of my mind? We should be together! _Aang dropped to the ground and huffed angrily. He stared at the clouds, and began to feel a deep sadness as he considered that Katara might never feel this way towards him. Eyes welling from emotion, Aang continued to watch the clouds slowly pass overhead as he waited for his friends to return. Eventually, his eyes fluttered closed as he drifted off to sleep.

A couple of hours later, Aang woke to Katara calling his name. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stood; wondering how long they had been back. Seeing that she still looked worried, Aang jumped down from his spot on the rock and joined his friends. Katara smiled, and Aang stiffly returned this gesture. At this, hurt flashed in Katara's eyes, and the avatar instantly felt guilty, but just then Sokka called everyone over for dinner. "Smoked sea-slug, a la Sokka! Come get it!"

The friends settled comfortably around a fresh campfire. "Aaaaaand vegetables for the air bender!" Aang took the food from Sokka and dug in hungrily. If it weren't for Toph making fun of Sokka's cooking skills and the boy's hurt arguments back, dinner that night would have been extremely quiet and tense. Aang and Katara avoided each others' gazes, trying not to make eye contact. As soon as Katara finished her plate, however, she walked over to him; "Can we talk outside… alone?" Aang nodded and followed her out, unnoticed by the angrily wrestling duo inside.

"Katara I'm s—"

"I'm sorry Aang." Katara interrupted, "I'm not sure what I did, but I can't stand when you act like this with me… What did I do?" Color rose in the water bender's cheeks as she dropped to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest.

Aang felt painful guilt rush through his body as he fell to his knees before Katara. "You could never do anything to make me act the way I did today. I just… I need to tell you something, but I can't. It doesn't excuse my childish behavior and I shouldn't have avoided you… I'm **so** sorry, Katara!" The two embraced and held each other for a moment, silently accepting the other's apology.

"What do you have to tell me?" Katara asked suddenly.

Aang remembered his dream, and the sudden courage he had felt then came back once more. _If she reacted this strongly to today, maybe she really does have feelings for me! _Aang took a deep breath and gently held Katara's face between his hands.

"Katara, I lo—" but Aang saw something in the distance that stopped him abruptly. A large ball of fire was quickly hurtling toward the cliff; Aang reacted quickly. He stood both of them up and created a gust of air that blew Katara back into the cave; far out of the reach of the fire. Aang turned to stop the flame, but was too late. The catapulted ball crashed into the rocky ground beside him, causing the rocks to soar violently through the air. He tried to bend them away from his body, but was distracted by another fiery explosion. Aang felt the pain of the rocks hitting his body as he diverted the next fireball with air bending and sent it flying back at the ship that had spotted them. He watched it sink and heard anxious cries from within the cave. The young avatar fell back on the ground in shouts of agony as pain rippled though his torso. Looking at his chest, Aang could see that he had been hit there—by rocks or by fire he couldn't decide—and that his injuries could be fatal. Another fire nation ship was swiftly approaching.

Aang gingerly laid back on the hard ground as a shocked daze clouded his vision. The world around him went silent, though vibrations in the earth could be felt and blasts of heat and light still flashed before him. Aang was only vaguely aware of a rushed Appa being cautiously brought to his rescue. Toph and Sokka both held on to Aang as they hurriedly scrambled into the creature's saddle. As the bison took off into the darkening sky, Katara's arms rose and she focused her strength into her bending movements. She furiously created a large wave that crashed over the remaining ship; effectively capsizing it. Katara then rushed to Aang's side. He could feel pressure on his hand as she grasped it tightly. Anger and fear played across the girl's face.

"Aang, you're going to be alright. Once we're safe I can use water to heal you." He saw clear doubt in the girl's eyes, and wondered just how bad his wounds were. "Everything will work out fine because Aang I—I love you!"

Tears falling from Katara's beautiful blue eyes were the last thing that Aang remembered before darkness overtook him.

...

When Aang awoke, his pain had nearly subsided and he was no longer surrounded by exploding earth and the ocean. It seemed that he was in a tent, lying on top of a pile of hay and a thick blanket. To his left, Katara was stretched alongside him, clutching his arm as she slept. Aang intertwined his fingers with Katara's and pulled their hands up to her face, lightly stroking the length of her cheek. Her eyes fluttered, then shot open with surprise.

"You're awake! Aang, it's been days! Everyone has been so worried; even Toph, and you know how she is about showing emotion… OW!" Katara exclaimed as a rock jutted from the ground into her leg. She gingerly rubbed her thigh, "Well anyway, you don't know how glad I am that you're okay! I can't imagine what we'd do without you."

"Yeah," Aang laughed hoarsely, "it wouldn't have been very good for the world if the avatar died that night…"

"Well… yeah but… I guess I phrased that wrong, Aang. I should have said that I don't know what **I** would have done without you." Katara's cheeks flushed, apparently astonished at her own words.

Aang's lips formed an ear to ear grin as he pulled Katara to his side and embraced her as best as he could in his condition. The two looked at each other, both smiling goofily. Then, the air grew thick.

"Did you mean what you said when you guys rescued me? That you love me?"

Katara said nothing, but when their eyes met, he had his answer. "I love you Katara," he uttered, "I always have, and I always will."

Katara tightened her grasp on Aang's hand, "I love you too, Aang."

With his free hand, Aang held Katara's face and pulled it toward him; meeting her lips with his. The kiss was phenomenal. It was even better than Aang could have desired or imagined; only _this time, _his dream had become reality.

**Well, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! I'm always open to constructive criticism on my style of writing, so please review and tell me what you think. :] **


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